You may already realize that birth records, marriage records or divorce records can help with genealogy, but did you know Ohio cemetery records can help too? Ohio cemetery records can offer a real wealth of data when it comes to completing your records. Consider that from Ohio cemetery records you can often find:

full legal and maiden name

when and where a person was born

any affiliations including military

names of other family members

Of course, some of this depends on whether or not you go to the cemetery in person or not. Ohio cemetery records can help a great deal, of course surveying the area for other possible family members can lead to even greater information. It may not be possible, however, for you to do this so getting records or tombstone transcriptions is the next best thing. For Definitions of all Cemetery Terms See Symbols on Gravestones and Their Interpretations

Getting a Hold of Records

There may be numerous ways to obtain Ohio cemetery records. If you want to go the easiest route possible, you can simply hire someone or a service to try to track records down for you. Other than that, you can try to find Ohio cemetery records through:

church records if you know what faith the person may have been

county records if you know what county the person lived in

military related records if the person was enlisted or retired

newspapers and microfilm that could help you with the area where the person lived

Remember if the person was born in another state, he or she may have been returned to the hometown for burial. Of course, you could also use newspapers and microfilm for the place where a person was born to find out if their death announcement mentions where they may be buried.

To have success with your Ohio cemetery records search, you should try to track down which county you think you should be looking in. This is one of the most important pieces of information to have so you can find good results. Even without it, you may find the Ohio cemetery records you want; it just may take more time.

Research In Ohio Cemetery Records

Most Ohio counties have published their cemetery records, but not in a uniform way. The Ohio Genealogical Society suggests that researchers contact major genealogical libraries or local historical societies for information on Ohio cemetery records.

Famous People Buried in Ohio Cemeteries

County

Name / Date / Cemetery

Description

Butler

Middletown Firefighter and Police Memorial – Woodside Cemetery

Established to honor firefighters and policemen of Middletown who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Cuyahoga

Feller, Bob 11/3/1918 – 12/15/2010 Gates Mills North Cemetery

Hall of Fame Major League Baseball Player. A legendary pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, he was felt by some to have had the fastest fastball ever.

Cuyahoga

Garfield, James Abram 11/19/1831 – 9/19/1881 Lake View Cemetery

20th United States President. His administration lasted but 200 days of which 80 were spent languishing in a fight for his life after being shot in the back by an assassin.

Cuyahoga

Ness, Eliot 4/19/1903 – 5/16/1957 Lake View Cemetery

Law Officer. He was the Federal Bureau of Ivestigations lawman who brought gangster Al Capone to justice.

Cuyahoga

Rockefeller Sr. , John D. 7/8/1839 – 5/23/1937 Lake View Cemetery

American financier, oil magnate and philanthropiSt. Best known as the patriarch of the socially prominent Rockefeller family of New York, founder of the Standard Oil Company and founder of the Rockefeller Foundation.

World War I Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, Distinguished Service Cross Recipient, Fighter Ace, Aviator, Race Car Driver, America’s ‘Ace of Aces’ during World War I. The son of Swiss immigrants, he first gained fame driving race cars.

Franklin

Thomas (David), Dave (Rex) 7/2/1932 – 1/8/2002 Union Cemetery

American restaurateur and philanthropist, best known as founder of the hamburger chain, Wendy’s International Inc. Wearing a Wendy’s apron, Thomas was one of the nation’s most recognized television spokesmen.

Greene

Burma Hop Aviators’ Memorial – National Museum of the United States Air Force

Erected by aviator veterans, this monument is to the memory of all the combined allied and US forces who served in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations during World War II.

Greene

Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Monument – National Museum of the United States Air Force

Monument to the Doolittle Airmen, who were made famous for bombing Japan, after months of Japanese military success against American forces in the Pacific. Their success story is told in the book by pilot Lieutenant Ted Lawson, “Thirty Seconds over Tokyo,” and by a 1944 film of the same name.

Greene

Memorial to World War 2 Aviators – National Museum of the United States Air Force

On August 28, 1987, the Association of Former Prisoners of World War II in Romania, dediated the memorial. The monument stands in honor to the memory for all the airman who flew combat missions over Romania in liberation for peace and freedom.

Greene

Tuskegee Airman Memorial – National Museum of the United States Air Force

The Tuskegee Airman Memorial is located at the USAF Museum Memorial Park, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Dayton, Ohio. The monument stands in honor to all America’s African American men and women whom served their country during World War II.

Greene

Vietnam Aviators’ Monument – National Museum of the United States Air Force

In 1988, the Vietnam Aviators’ Monument was dedicated by the Red River Fighter Pilots Association at USAF Museum Memorial Park Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The memorial is dedicated to the US Military pilots whom flew over the Red River Valley North Vietnam, during the Vietnam War.

Hamilton

5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Memorial – Spring Grove Cemetery

This monument, erected in 1895 by the regiment’s survivors, commemorates the soldiers who fought for the 5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War serving the Union Army from 1861 to 1865. They were organized under Colonel Samuel H. Dunning three days after President Lincoln’s call for volunteers.

Knox

Lynde, Paul Edward 6/13/1927 – 1/10/1982 Amity Cemetery

Actor. Lynde played Samantha’s mischievous Uncle Arthur (the practical joker) on the television show “Bewitched. ” Comic-Actor-PaneliSt. Born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Paul Lynde was one of six children of Hoy and Sylvia Lynde.

Newspaper ColumniSt. For three decades she chronicled life’s absurdities in a syndicated column carried by hundreds of newspapers.

Montgomery

Dayton Veterans Soldiers Monument – Dayton National Cemetery

Dayton Veterans Soldiers Monument. This monument is located atop the central mound at the Dayton National Cemetery on the grounds of the former National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Central Branch.

Montgomery

Moorehead, Agnes 12/6/1900 – 4/30/1974 Dayton Memorial Park

Actress. She was born Agnes Robertson Moorehead in Clinton, Massachusetts, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister.

Montgomery

Wright, Orville 8/19/1871 – 1/30/1948 Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

Inventor. The younger of the two brothers who would invent the airplane and start the aerial age, he outlived his brother Wilbur by 36 years.

Montgomery

Wright, Wilbur 4/16/1867 – 5/30/1912 Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

Inventor. The older of the two brothers who invented the airplane and started the aerial age, he died of typhoid fever 36 years before his brother Orville.

Portage

Kent State Memorial – Kent State University

During a Vietnam anti-war protest rally at Kent State University on May 4, 1970, four students were shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard. Erected in 1999, the memorial marks the spot of the incident with the names of students killed.

Sandusky

Hayes, Rutherford Birchard 10/4/1822 – 1/17/1893 Oakwood Cemetery

19th United States President, Civil War Union Major General, US Congressman, Ohio Governor. He became President after one of the closest elections in United States history.

Major League Baseball Player. Nicknamed “Rocky” for his ability to talk, he played nine seasons in the Major Leagues while playing for 5 teams.

Stark

McKinley, William 1/29/1843 – 9/14/1901 McKinley Memorial Park

25th United States President. His hometown was the small town of Niles, Ohio.

Summit

Sultana Civil War Veteran’s Memorial – Oakwood Cemetery

The bronze plaque reads “Memorial to soldiers who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. *Indicates those whose lives were lost on the Mississippi Steamer, Sultana when it blew up at Memphis, Tenn. , April 27, 1865.

Tuscarawas

Young, Cy (Denton True) 3/29/1867 – 11/4/1955 Peoli Cemetery

Hall of Fame Major League Baseball Player. Born Denton True Young in Gilmore, Ohio, he was one of the most dominate pitchers of all time in baseball history.